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Words Are Linked to Successful Children

I was listening to a This American Life podcast called Going Big this weekend where they cited some research that the success of children can be linked to how many words the baby hears in the first three years of life. Kids who do well in life hear twice as many encouraging words as discouraging words. Kids who don’t hear the reverse — more discouraging words than encouraging ones. Kids who have educated parents hear more words than kids of under-educated parents. So what does language have to do with success?

Language: speaking, reading and writing, is the means by which most humans interact with the world. A Penn State researcher says, “It is not enough that the mother herself have a good vocabulary, it is also necessary for mothers to teach letters to their babies, talk out loud to them and read books to them regularly and consistently. This is much less likely to happen when the mother is trapped on the bottom rungs of the socioeconomic ladder and is consumed by financial and emotional pressures or stresses, he adds.”

A factor in children’s success is therefore the quality of childcare that they receive before the age of three. source A child’s own mother gives the highest quality childcare because she has a vested interest in the success of the child. All other childcare providers are hirelings. By using the word hireling, I refer to the Bible stories in Ezekiel 34 and John 10 where the difference between shepherds and hirelings is explained.

Parenting quality is another factor in children’s success. Parents do so much to assist their children besides speaking to their children. Parents read to, play with and take children places that stimulate their interest in the world around them. Parents who struggle with financial and other stresses have less time to devote to their children and as a result their children struggle also.

So if you are wondering if you are doing any good by staying home with your children, here is scientific research to prove it. If you don’t have the luxury to stay home with your kids you can still put priority on speaking to, reading with and nurturing language skills. Kids thrive as parents invest time and energy in them.